MUMBAI, DECEMBER 28, 2010: It was on December 19, 2010 that our dearest parish priest, Fr. Aloysious Furtado, completed forty years of priesthood and fifty years of religious life. It was indeed an auspicious moment for our parish as we thanked God for having blessed us with a wonderful gift – Fr. Aloo. The atmosphere was filled with thanksgiving, prayers and a heart full of gratitude.
The evening felicitations began at 6:30 pm with Fr. Aloo leading the gathering into prayer and invoking the Lords’ blessings at the Eucharistic table. The cultural programme organized by the parishioners followed the mass to felicitate the jubilarian for his accomplishments as a Salesian. The program began with the cutting of the cake by Fr. Aloo. Fr. Bernard then addressed the gathering and thanked Fr. Aloo for his wonderful and empowering presence in the parish community. A power point presentation that followed gave the audience a glimpse of the life of Fr. Aloo right from the days of his childhood till his journey as a Salesian. It was indeed a moment of awe and gratitude that the Lord worked so many wonders through his child. Next in line were voices from our very own Sunday school children which combined to form a song acknowledging Fr. Aloo as “The wind beneath their wings”. Thereafter, the Sunday school teachers poured out their feelings through the lines of poetry. The youth then enthralled the audience with an energetic dance number. Finally, some sweet memories were relived when ‘the good old choir of yesteryears’ trained by Fr. Aloo grouped together under Nicole to sing some beautiful Christmas carols.